New tagging technique for bullets shoots holes in "fingerprinting"

MachineDesign.Com ^ | May 8, 2003 Issue | Machine Design News editors

[Constitution Day]

 

New tagging technique for bullets shoots holes in "fingerprinting"

Embedded microembossing technology marks cartridge casings as they are ejected from the firearm.

Ballistic fingerprinting has its critics. Used for years, it involves analyzing the unique markings of fired bullets and empty shell casings and then matching them to specific firearms. Proponents say ballistic studies help law officers match guns with crime-scene evidence. Critics, on the other hand, claim the technique is just a way to register and eventually confiscate all lawfully owned handguns. They also say ballistic markings can be easily altered, essentially making the "fingerprints" useless.

One company aims to change that with an alternative tagging technology said to be proof positive. NanoVia LP, Londonderry, N.H. (www.nanovia.com), has developed a microembossing technique that stamps each cartridge casing as bullets fire. The microscopic code can be made up of encrypted symbols, bar codes, or simple alphanumeric codes, such as the make, model, and tracking number. Manufacturers can access the code to find out a firearm's serial number and purchasing history. The company says these identifiers, called NanoTag Ballistic ID Tags, would immediately lead investigators to a specific gun without requiring the extra manpower and expense associated with trying to match "scratches and dings" that can be easily altered. The technique uses imaging equipment found in local, state, and federal forensics labs.

NanoVia is working with the State of California Department of Justice to test various code configurations and to see where the embossing surfaces should sit within the firearms for forensic value and repeatability.

[Larry Lucido]

I wonder how they handle revolvers?

Disposable cylinders that are ejected from the frame after firing 6 rounds?

[SJSAMPLE]

These guys are idiots. If they can build it, I can circumvent it. Look at the bottom picture of the post, where they show a "spare" barrel and what look like firing pins. Are they relying on barrel and firing pin markings? How original. Five minutes, tops. Maybe they're relying on the extractor? That gun looks like a SIG P229, of which I own. I can swap the extractor in less than a minute.

My Dremel and I eagerly await ANYTHING Kalifornistan can dish out.

[Larry Lucido]

I wonder how they handle revolvers?

Wait, I forgot. When you empty a revolver, you always throw the empty gun at your target. Problem solved.

[ibbryn]

I'm almost worn out from commenting on the stupidity of these schemes. Almost....

[Redcloak]

It's for the children, donchaknow.

[philetus]

There will probably be plainclothes feds, hanging around the range to grab peoples brass.

[FreedomPoster]

>>Can you say "reloads"? Good, I knew you could.

How about "revolver"?

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Yeah, but after the bullets bounce off him, why does Superman flinch when they throw the revolver?

Because guns kill!

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

They can have my brass, when they pry them from my...

Never mind.

[muir_redwoods]

Who's paying to retrofit the 200 million firearms already out there and what about revolvers and other designs that don't eject?

Oh and does the author expect any compliance issues? There might be some!

[Redcloak]

This thread has been up for only about 30 minutes and our small group has already come up with 4 or 5 work-a-rounds to this "fingerprinting" system.

When will the silly grabbers ever learn...

[Blood of Tyrants]

If it comes to this, then it is way past talking time and getting perilously close to shooting time.

[Zeppo]

because it uses imaging equipment already commonly found at local, state & federal forensics laboratories, the cost of implementing the NanoTag™ Ballistic ID Tag™ technology is negligible compared to the manpower and equipment costs required for “ballistic fingerprinting.”

That's only because they "forgot" to include the cost to freedom from tyranny.

[Cachelot]

It looks like this marks the cartridge as it is ejected

Actually, from the pics, it looks like this stupid thing is simply a stamp on the firing pin. Replace pin :).

Course, if you get hold of a firing pin meant for some other gun, the scene is set for all kinds of fun and games.

This idea can land that moronic company in very hot water, very quickly.

[boris]

Something tells me the bit that makes the mark could itself be modified...just a thought.

--Boris

[Blood of Tyrants]

If you have a Model 1911, barrels, firing pins and extractors are readily available, easily changed and cheap.

They will simply make it illegal to alter your gun and you will have to subject your gun for periodic testing just to make sure that you haven't been monkeying with it. No problem, except the back log will mean that your gun will be in the hands of the government for about 5 months a year.

[sean327]

Re-loads wouldn't have any effect, it's the gun that puts the tag on the cartridge. This is just another way to track gun owners for future confiscation!

[Jhoffa_]

Can you say "reloads"? Good, I knew you could.

Can you say: "Brass catcher?"

[jdege]

So the trick is to use a brass catcher on the gun you use in crime, and to scatter brass you picked up at the range around the crime scene.

You might make a special effort to pick up the brass left by police officers at the range, but that's just icing on the cake.

[45Auto]

All of this crap has to do with one thing: throwing yet another stumbling block into the path of those citizens who wish to exercise their Constitutional rights; also, it gives the bastards another excuse to pass yet more stupid, f'ing laws that taken together, mean the end of firearm ownership. This is another hare-brained idea that sounds good on paper, and may work for law enforcement guns, but out in the public and especially in criminal circles, this is just plain goofy. What the Cal DOJ wants is to control not just the sale of guns proper, but the sale of all gun parts. On the way to implementing any ballisitc fingerprinting mandate will be the rider that all gun parts be serial numbered; hence you will need "permission" to buy any and all gun parts. And of course, it will be a felony to alter or swap these parts. This crap coupled with the already in force SB 15 "drop test" means the end of all gunsmithing in California, including the gunsmithing hobbyist.